Rugby 2004 Critic Reviews

After a thorough training mode on the finer points on scrums, tries, and lineouts, one (or two players cooperatively) can take the controls and realistically injure opponents on soggy, mud-rutted pitches. Think "Madden NFL Football" minus the pads, steroids, and senile announcer, mate.

Sure, the graphics aren't top-notch, and there are some missing elements, but the bottom line is that fans of rugby will look past the little things and rejoice that the game provides an exciting and mostly realistic representation of the sport.

Controls are fairly snappy, the AI is competent, and the playbooks offer some variety. However, if you're not already a fan, the choppy commentary, average graphics, and lack of a useful tutorial will keep you away.

Passing between players is slow and cumbersome, kick-offs are genuinely ugly, rucks are something of a lottery and to top it all off the game is far too easy.

A decent translation with much to enjoy (primarily the sport itself); as a videogame, despite its problems - but hampered with the ruck to individual control flaw - the game seems more unfair, and less sporting.

If you can find the '01 Rugby on a "used" rack, I'd pick it up before this one; it doesn't accurately emulate as many aspects of the sport, but it's a better video game.

These graphics look like they missed the PS2 boat entirely. What this game lacks in fun it doesn't even make up for in novelty.

As with early "FIFAs", I couldn't help feeling that my players were doing a hell of a lot better when I didn't get in the way by, y'know, pressing any buttons or anything.

You can't ruin a sport game for the fans of the game but HB Studios along with EA sports really put a lot of effort into achieving this.

It's just too slow to enjoy, making it hard for even the most diligent rugby fans to get into it.

If you're looking for a PS2 rugby game, I'd recommend the original EA title. It must be cheaper by now, and has better gameplay. If you need a PS2 rugby game with updated rosters, there are some upcoming titles you could wait for.

A mediocre re-creation of the sport, but it doesn't have the level of polish or any of the bells and whistles that have become standard in other EA Sports series, like "Madden" or "NBA Live."

We've also come to take EA's high presentation values and their sports titles' accessibility for granted, and Rugby 2004 has neither. In essence, it feels like a cynical attempt to steal cash from dazzled armchair Wilkinsons, and we're yanking a point off for that alone.